Almost every Avery template is available in the office-supply aisle, but only a handful are practical for barcode labels. The rest are optimized for address labels, file folders, name badges, or return-address stickers — usable in a pinch, but not sized for a quiet zone, minimum bar-height, or the printer tolerances that barcode-scanning demands. This guide covers the six formats that actually work for product tags, warehouse bin labels, FBA prep, and small-shop retail, and helps you pick the right one on the first try instead of wasting a sheet or three learning by ricochet.
The generator ships four presets: 5160, 5163, 5167, and L7160. Those four have layout code hard-wired to Avery's official grid so the labels land in the right spot every time. For 5161 and 5164 — which have identical page geometry to their siblings but different label sizes — use the custom-size PDF option and enter the exact dimensions in this guide. Both approaches produce print-ready PDFs with the PrintScaling: None flag embedded so browser print dialogs stop trying to shrink your labels to fit the page.
Comparison table — all six formats
Every dimension below is taken from Avery's own product spec sheets. Metric equivalents use the standard 1 inch = 25.4 mm conversion. All six formats print on standard US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) except L7160 which is A4 (210 × 297 mm).
| Avery # | Labels / sheet | Label size | Grid | Best for | Preset? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5160 | 30 | 1" × 2⅝" (25.4 × 66.7 mm) |
3 × 10 | Product tags, SKU labels, price tags, small-format Amazon FNSKU | ✓ |
| 5161 | 20 | 1" × 4" (25.4 × 101.6 mm) |
2 × 10 | Address labels, wider FNSKU, barcode + description on one line | Custom size |
| 5163 | 10 | 2" × 4" (50.8 × 101.6 mm) |
2 × 5 | Shipping labels, large product tags, barcode + logo + text | ✓ |
| 5164 | 6 | 3⅓" × 4" (84.7 × 101.6 mm) |
2 × 3 | Large shipping labels, oversized product cards, wine bottle labels | Custom size |
| 5167 | 80 | ½" × 1¾" (12.7 × 44.5 mm) |
4 × 20 | Bin locations, small SKU tags, jewelry price stickers | ✓ |
| L7160 | 21 | 38.1 × 63.5 mm (1½" × 2½") |
3 × 7 | UK/EU address labels on A4, general-purpose barcode labels | ✓ |
The "Preset?" column reflects what the free bulk barcode generator exports today. Custom-size mode fills the gap by letting you enter any label dimension the sheet uses; the layout math is the same either way. Nothing on this page requires paying for a plugin or upgrading — every format below is generated by the same tool from a CSV or Excel upload.
Avery 5160 — 30 labels per sheet (1" × 2⅝")
The workhorse for small barcode tags
Avery 5160 is the format most people mean when they say "Avery barcode labels." It fits 30 labels on a US Letter sheet at 1 inch tall and 2⅝ inches wide — enough room for a Code 128 barcode with a short SKU string and a text line beneath it, or an EAN-13 / UPC-A retail barcode with padding on either side.
Where it shines: internal warehouse SKU labels, small retail price tags, and Amazon FNSKU labels when the product is small enough that the standard 1 × 2⅝ format wins on cost per label. It is the cheapest common format per label because you get more labels per sheet than any other Avery format usable for scanning.
Where it struggles: anything longer than about 20 characters encoded as Code 128 needs a wider label — the bar density becomes too tight for a phone camera to read reliably, even if a dedicated scanner still gets it. If the label needs a logo, a two-line description, or a QR code plus text, jump to 5163 (2 × 4) or 5164 (3⅓ × 4).
Generate 5160 labels →Avery 5161 — 20 labels per sheet (1" × 4")
Same height as 5160, doubled width — the FNSKU sweet spot
Avery 5161 is the same height as 5160 but twice as wide. The extra 1⅜ inches of horizontal space is exactly what Amazon's FNSKU labels want when the underlying SKU is long, or when the label needs to carry both a barcode and a human-readable product description on the same line.
Where it shines: Amazon FBA prep with long ASIN-linked FNSKUs, address labels doubled as tracking labels, warehouse bin identifiers that include both a barcode and a location code side by side, and any label where you want a Code 128 barcode plus a full text descriptor without stacking them vertically.
How to print it here: the built-in preset list uses 5160, 5163, 5167, and L7160. For 5161, choose the "Single label — custom size" export mode in the PDF panel, enter 25.4 mm for height and 101.6 mm for width, and set the layout to 2 columns × 10 rows with a small horizontal gap. The math is documented in the FAQ below.
Avery 5163 — 10 labels per sheet (2" × 4")
The shipping-label and detailed-product-tag standard
Avery 5163 hits the sweet spot for shipping labels printed on inkjet or laser sheets when you do not have a thermal printer. The 2 × 4 inch label is large enough for a full address, a Code 128 tracking barcode with a text line, a warehouse "from" address, and even a small logo — all on one label. Small e-commerce shops that fulfill from a home office or garage lean heavily on this format because it works with any printer already in the room.
Where it shines: USPS-compatible shipping labels (subject to carrier requirements), detailed product cards for Etsy or Shopify orders, warehouse pick-slip labels combining SKU + description + destination, and Amazon FBA case labels for larger boxes. The 10-per-sheet density means you can print exactly what you need for a small daily order volume without wasting labels.
Design guidance: for a shipping-label layout, keep the barcode in the top-right or bottom-right corner (scanners look for that region first) and reserve the left half for the address block. When exporting from the generator, pick the 5163 preset and use the "add text line" option to overlay a short description under each barcode.
Generate 5163 labels →Avery 5164 — 6 labels per sheet (3⅓" × 4")
Oversized labels for large boxes and premium products
Avery 5164 is the largest of the standard-sheet formats used for barcodes. Six labels per sheet is not efficient for high-volume operations, but the 3⅓ × 4 inch canvas is exactly right for premium product packaging, wine and spirits labels that carry both regulatory text and a barcode, and shipping labels for oversized boxes where a smaller label would look dwarfed by the surface it sits on.
Where it shines: subscription-box shipping labels, wine and beverage back-labels combining nutrition info + barcode, garment care labels that need enough space for washing instructions plus a UPC, and any product where the label doubles as branded packaging rather than a purely functional marker.
How to print it here: like 5161, pick the custom-size PDF mode, enter 84.7 mm height and 101.6 mm width, and lay out as 2 columns × 3 rows. Margins on a US Letter sheet: 12.7 mm top, 12.7 mm left, no vertical gap between rows.
Avery 5167 — 80 labels per sheet (½" × 1¾")
Ultra-small labels for bin locations and jewelry tags
Avery 5167 (also called Avery 8167 for the equivalent inkjet stock) is designed for return-address labels and takes 80 to a page. For barcodes, the ½-inch height is at the lower boundary of what handheld scanners read reliably — a 1D Code 128 works fine with short strings, but longer values pack the bars too densely for phone-camera reads.
Where it shines: warehouse bin location labels (short internal codes like A-01-03), jewelry price tags where the label wraps around a metal ring, dental and medical lab specimen tubes, and any application where you need to label a huge quantity of small items and cost per label matters more than barcode-plus-description flexibility.
Limitations: QR codes and Data Matrix look cramped at this size — the individual cells drop below the 10 mil (0.25 mm) minimum for reliable phone scanning. If you need a 2D code, either drop to 15-per-page L7160 or upgrade to a thermal printer that can render at higher resolution.
Generate 5167 labels →L7160 — the A4 equivalent
The UK, EU, and Australia default
L7160 is Avery UK's flagship general-purpose label, roughly equivalent to US-market 5160 but sized for A4 stock instead of Letter. The label footprint is closer to a business card than a strip, which suits it to product tags that benefit from square-ish proportions — think craft goods, artisan food, cosmetics.
Where it shines: UK / EU / Australia small-shop operations where A4 is standard, product tags for handmade goods sold via Shopify or Etsy, and any label design that wants a barcode plus multiple lines of stacked text rather than a barcode strip.
Generate L7160 labels →How to choose the right format
Cost per label is not the whole story. The label that saves you 40 cents on materials wastes hours if it does not scan reliably, or if it forces you to print a second sheet with a text description because the barcode ate the whole label. Three questions cut through the choice quickly:
1. How much text does the label need to carry?
If the barcode is the whole label, pick the smallest format that gives your bar-code type a comfortable quiet zone (about 10x the narrowest bar width): 5160 for short Code 128, 5167 for very short internal codes. If you need barcode + a line of description, jump to 5161 (1 × 4). If you need barcode + full address or paragraph, jump to 5163 (2 × 4). If the label doubles as packaging, 5164 (3⅓ × 4).
2. What is going to scan it?
Handheld laser scanners (Zebra DS2278, Symbol LS2208 class) will read almost any legibly-printed barcode at almost any size. Phone camera scanners (iOS Camera app, Zebra Scan-and-Go, Amazon Scan) need larger bars and more quiet-zone padding. If your workflow involves phone cameras — Amazon Seller App reading FNSKUs, for instance — size up one format from what a dedicated scanner would need.
3. How many labels do you print per week?
Under 200 labels per week: any Avery sheet works, pick the size that fits your content. Over 500 per week: strongly consider a thermal printer (Zebra ZD-series or Rollo) which uses continuous roll stock and outputs sharper barcodes at any DPI. The ZPL export in the generator drops your label straight into a Zebra printer without a driver install.
Print scaling and alignment — the one thing that ruins Avery sheets
Every Avery template on this page is engineered to hit specific pixel positions when printed at exactly 100% scale. Any deviation — 3%, 5%, whatever the browser's "Fit to page" toggle applied — accumulates across the sheet and shows up as misalignment around row 3, then gets progressively worse. Half the "Avery labels don't work" complaints on the internet are actually browser-print-dialog issues.
The generator embeds a PrintScaling: None hint in every PDF as a strong signal to the browser and printer driver. That is not always enough. To guarantee alignment:
- In the browser print dialog, set Scale to 100% (some dialogs call this "Actual size" or "None").
- Uncheck "Fit to page" and any "Shrink oversized pages" option.
- Do not use "Auto-select" for paper size. Explicitly choose US Letter for 5160/5161/5163/5164/5167, or A4 for L7160.
- Before running a large batch, download the alignment test PDF from the generator's PDF panel and hold it against a blank Avery sheet — the printed rectangles should overlap the die-cut labels exactly. If they do not, adjust printer margins before wasting real labels.
The two-sheet rule. Always print your first batch as a two-sheet test. Sheet one on plain paper (hold it up to a blank Avery sheet against a window to check alignment). Sheet two on real Avery stock once alignment is confirmed. This costs one plain sheet and saves an entire pack of misaligned labels.
FAQ
Does this tool actually generate PDFs for 5161 and 5164, or only 5160/5163/5167/L7160?
Both. The four listed above are one-click presets — the grid math is hard-coded to Avery's official spec so the output is guaranteed to align. For 5161 and 5164, use the custom-size PDF mode with the dimensions in the tables above and enter the same margins Avery uses (12.7 mm top-left corner). The output PDF is identical in quality to the presets, it just takes one extra step to configure.
Why doesn't the generator include presets for 5161 and 5164?
The presets are limited to formats whose dimensions are frequently requested and rarely mis-typed. 5161 and 5164 share the same 4-inch width as 5163 but differ only in height, so a mis-entered preset would misalign labels silently — the same failure mode that browser scaling causes, except impossible to detect until after printing. Making these custom-mode configurations is a deliberate speed bump that forces you to double-check the height dimension before committing to a print run.
Which format works best for Amazon FNSKU labels?
Amazon specifies FNSKU labels between 1 × 2 inches and 2 × 3 inches. 5160 (1 × 2⅝) is the cheapest fit; 5161 (1 × 4) is more forgiving for long SKU strings; 5163 (2 × 4) is the largest that still qualifies and gives you space for a text description alongside the barcode. Avoid 5167 for FNSKU — the ½-inch height is below what Amazon warehouse scanners reliably read.
Do I need to buy Avery-brand sheets, or do generic-compatible sheets work?
Generic compatible sheets from Uline, Online Labels, and similar work if they explicitly list an Avery equivalent number (e.g. "compatible with Avery 5160"). Die-cut dimensions have to match Avery's spec to within about 0.5 mm or the labels drift. Sheets that just say "1 × 2⅝ address labels" without an Avery reference number are risky — actual die positions vary between manufacturers.
Can I print barcodes on Avery sheets with an inkjet printer, or does it have to be laser?
Both work, but with different failure modes. Laser prints darker and more consistently, which improves 1D barcode scanning reliability at small sizes. Inkjet has a slight fuzziness at bar edges that can hurt scanning of dense Code 128 with lots of characters — a laser barcode at 5 mil bar width scans; the same barcode inkjet-printed sometimes does not. For QR codes and Data Matrix, both technologies work fine down to about 25 mil cells.
How do I generate a batch of barcodes with different SKUs — one per label?
Upload a CSV or Excel file where each row is one SKU value. Select the column containing the values, pick the Avery template (or custom size), and the generator lays out one barcode per label position across as many sheets as needed. Labels come out in the same order as the spreadsheet rows. If you have 47 SKUs and pick 5160 (30 per sheet), you get one full sheet plus a partial second sheet with 17 labels filled and 13 blank.
Can I start printing from a specific label position on a partially used sheet?
Yes — the PDF export panel has a "start at slot" option. If the first 12 labels are already used, set start position to 13 and the generator will leave those spots blank on the first sheet and begin filling from slot 13, then continue normally onto subsequent sheets.
What barcode type should I pick for Avery-printed labels?
For retail products sold at a POS: UPC-A (US/Canada) or EAN-13 (international) — but these require a registered GS1 prefix, not something you invent. For internal SKUs, warehouse bins, and Amazon FNSKU: Code 128, which handles all letters and numbers and needs no registration. For URLs, tracking codes, or dense text: QR Code — best on labels at least 1 × 1 inch. For inventory codes that need to work on damaged or partially obscured labels: Data Matrix, which has stronger error correction than QR at the same size.
Ready to print? Open the bulk barcode generator, paste or upload your values, pick the Avery template above that matches your sheets, and download the PDF. First-time users: print the alignment test PDF first on plain paper to verify positioning, then swap in your real Avery stock for the production run.